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We had a chance if we could maintain great GS all around which would have allowed us to use other tactics. Problem is that we were forced to run more inside offense because our best shooters continued to be in strong (low) GS for whatever reason. Couldn't risk relying on them so had to go inside. We have great bigs,yes, but our best bigs against their best bigs, as well as guards with higher skill totals than ours, makes it a difficult task to win straight up. Plus, not to mention, the 5 bigs on the team were our best on the depth chart but we have a lack of legit bigs in the pipeline.

So the GS trapped us into the outcomes of a couple particular losses? That's unfortunate. From the box score alone it looks like a combination of tactics as well. Do you think that the next term will have a team that is finally capable of bringing the world gold back?

Those two games being mentioned had different scenarios. As for the Australia game, all of our bigs and SFs were in great GS while we only had 1 guard in Proficient GS. The rest were Strong (low-medium). Our best offense would have come from our 3-5 positions. Also, our best PG was injured that game too which didn't help. As for the Spain game, that is the one game I will continue to say I messed up on, and I am not afraid to admit that. We very well could have, and should have, run PTB.

As far as the next term, it will be a struggle which will rely heavily on GS as well as no key players getting injured. Four of our top five bigs will be getting to be too old for competition which is scary to think about. We may only have a few NT caliber bigs in two seasons. It will suck. However, I think our guard depth will be a strength and we could have the best guards in NT competition when talking about having the ability to run outside offenses. These next two seasons will be scary but fun at the same time as we are going to have to transition our focus most likely so that way we can play to our strengths.

I get frustrated with that Naysayer sentiment. Usually those are either 12 year olds, or guys who just don't understand. There are so many variables that go into actually winning the Gold.

I wouldn't say that is totally true.

I thought the word "usually" quantified my statement as being less than "totally true"? :-)

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of experienced managers that are voting for Isaiah.

So we have no chance for any world success in this transition phase?

The USNT player poll lacks depth, is relatively weak and is aging. Many of our players lack the well rounded secondaries necessary to compete at the highest level. As a nation, we have failed to train elite NT players. The success of our NT lies not on one US manager, but all US managers.

The future looks brighter as more experienced managers (Isaiah included) are scouting, advising player development, and training a new crop of multi-skilled US prospects. The more educated US mangers are about training NT prospects, the better we'll be.

The NT is very much like the u21 team. The u21 team you get in there, you work with the staff that have helped put together previous seasons, and you try and create a mindset in the 18 year old crop you get. You develop that crop with those individuals while managing the assets you have in place that are 20-21, and hope to do as well as you can. Sometimes, you have enough talent and have enough strategic know-how to make it work. Sometimes even the best made plans won't work. But the whole goal is not to win 1 term and finish at the end of the two seasons, it's to see the guys you started work out. It's also to continue developing the next group in your mindset.

I'm not going to run for the NT, but i'll answer your questions as a u21 match scout and let you decide whether or not that makes a difference when picking a vote.

1) This question isn't relevant. One person can dedicate themselves for 20 hours a day and not accomplish what a group of 6 talent scouts and 2 assists would. When you have 8 or 9 people working together, thats when the best results occur. The people that lose on this should know that the only way to really move forward as a US NT is to take their several hours of time that they can dedicate to the game per day or per week and improve the man-power behind the national squad.

2) Dealing with critics is less stressful here than it is elsewhere. I'd argue that from what i saw from Issiah, he criticizes himself more than others target him. If he can remove the pressure he puts on himself and gets focused on details that are on the set of remaining games rather than the loss that happened last week or last month, he'll improve his own performance.

3) Club level success does not adequately display the best of strategic knowledge. An individual that understands the abilities and the math behind their abilities, those people will figure out the game engine and end up moving into D.II or D.III most of the time, but it may not make them successful. If they do what i do and have two 18 year olds and 1 19 year old US u21 prospect or NT prospect in the wings, it's gonna be hard to be a top BB guy. Using that as a tool is again not necessarily going to give you the right answer.

4) It depends on the Gameshape management of those involved. I think if you have great GS management, then overcoming the 60-70 TSP disadvantage as a squad is not impossible. I also happen to think that our guards outclass most nations, making it easier to play a different set of strategies and furthermore make it more difficult for our opponents to properly guess.

5) A public forum is not the best place to explain why certain strategies are more relevant to this squad. I will say that in certain matchups, the US at the NT and u21 level either this season or seasons prior were quite guilty of trying to fit a square peg in a triangular hole. Every team will have a strength, and the strength should make 2 or 3 offenses viable. Play within those offenses, force others to play against your strength. Exploit what other managers think of your team as well. Plan for what the other teams mindset might be as well. Another area where we have been guilty is at times expecting other smaller nations to play to win the gold, when somestimes they play to boost their achievement past the prior seasons to create a positive vibe and a way to get re-elected. Thats what the US is going to have to improve on.

~FurySK/Yimmy

Its very easy to say what you would have played now that you see the results. Heck, I would play things a little differently too. But based on everything we had in front of us and the shape of our roster at that time I really don't think yourself or Goldbear would have done much different. The Australia game was a fluke and Id say 8 out of 10 times we would have won. As for the Spain game, go look at the discussion for it. I was dead set on PTB and had it set until the last two minutes. I feared the double guess and it happened. That was my only wrong decision in my opinion. The Australia game I would do it over again.

Also, you talk about playing the guys with the best stamina but do you not realize that stamina really isn't that high on the majority of our best players? Its not like we can just pick whoever we want whenever we want. We are only allowed 18 players and if we make drops then we lose enthusiasm. What you are saying you would do is almost an impossible feat due to the restrictions in place.

I never said "guys with the best" stamina. I thought a manager of your class would not twist words but I guess I was wrong. I said an emphasis needs to be placed on higher stamina, whether that means 1 or 2 or 3 weeks training stamina it is open ended at this point (obviously this will rely heavily on the compliance of the managers who have these players on their team). But its definitely not an "almost impossible feat". It not might be a popular choice but stamina can have a large effect on the game. The fact that it is not really high on the majority of our best players is a problem within itself. It shouldn't be ignored.

Also I was asked a question about what I would have done differently for one or two matches and I answered the question. Was I just supposed to ignore the person who asked the question?

Last edited by Dwight Coward at 5/25/2016 10:33:28 AM

Nope, not ignore. I was just saying in general it is easy to look back on matches and say things could have been played differently.

As far stamina, I agree 100% that it has an impact on games. I would love to have everyone train stamina but, as you mentioned, it is dependent upon the compliance of managers. There are some that would be all over it, but the majority of managers are focused completely on training and see those core skills increase or they are training new guys all together. That's just one thing that a NT manager has to deal with.